KONICA MINOLTA

About Konica Minolta

Giving Shape to Ideas

Building a Recycling-Oriented Society

Developing Resource-Conserving Products

Resource Savings through Process Transformation at Customers

Inkjet Textile Printer Reducing Use of Water Resources

The inkjet textile printer does not require the plate making and colored size mixing that is needed with conventional screen-printing. It also contributes to the reduction of resources usage and waste, since it enables on-demand production that uses only the amount of ink and material needed. Compared to conventional screen-printing, it reduces environmental impact significantly, with a 97% reduction in sizing usage, and a 62% reduction in water resources usage.


Nassenger SP-1 inkjet textile printer

Inkjet Press That Saves Resources During Printing

UV Inkjet Digital Press

Rising environmental awareness is driving demands for the field of commercial and industrial printing to break away from conventional methods where large amounts are printed and surplus is discarded. In the world of marketing, meanwhile, labels and packages for each event are being produced in small lots, and product/marketing strategies targeting individual consumers, such as including specific people’s names, is gaining ground.
Konica Minolta’s digital inkjet printer AccurioJet KM-1 produces high image quality comparable to that of conventional offset printing and can handle a wide range of printing papers. It enables production of printed matter in just the quantity needed, at the time needed, to suit the customer’s exact needs. This, in turn, reduces environmental impact by minimizing waste. As one example, the printer has been equipped with ink consumption reduction mode, which helps to reduce ink waste. This solution also helps to reduce the labor-hours needed in the printing process due to its user-friendly operability, even for unskilled workers.


UV inkjet digital printer, AccurioJet KM-1e

Contributing to Resource Recycling through Sensing Technology

Konica Minolta's hyperspectral Imaging, a sensing technology for multi-wavelength spectroscopic measurement of the visible to infrared light range, makes the non-destructive identification of chemical substances possible. The technology can automate the identification of plastic materials for recycling and the inspection of foreign substances in food and pharmaceuticals, thereby helping to solve environmental problems and more effectively use resources.

The appropriate sorting of each material is important when recycling plastic products. Each plastic material has its own unique reflective properties, and the SPECIM FX-17 hyperspectral camera enables the identification of PET, PP, PVC, HDPE, PS, etc. at the raw material level. The SPECIM FX-50, which is photosensitive in the long wavelength part of the infrared region, can be used to accurately sort even black plastic materials, which had been difficult until now.


Image taken with Konica Minolta’s hyperspectral camera

Making Office Equipment Smaller and Lighter

Making products smaller and lighter contributes greatly to reducing raw materials use and energy consumption during production as well as environmental impact during disposal. Through technical development leveraging its core technologies, Konica Minolta is working at reducing the size and weight of its office equipment while increasing their performance. It is also actively pursuing the development of new products with low environmental impact.

Example of product launched in 2021
The digital printing system AccurioPress C7100 offers automation, efficiency and skill-less functions on par with high-speed machines, but its width has been reduced by about 15% and its weight by about 25% compared to conventional machines.


Digital Printing System
AccurioPress C7100

Longer Product Life for Office Equipment

The process unit required for Electrophotographic image forming for MFP has a limited lifespan and sometimes needs to be replaced. Konica Minolta has been working to extend the life of MFP drum units, which is particularly short. With the i-Series it has achieved a 20% longer lifespan compared to a previous model (C368). In addition, by also installing a mechanism to predict when the unit is likely to wear out, the customer can now replace the unit at the optimal point and avoid any image defects.

Conserving Resources with Office Equipment

Non-Image Area Erase function” Saves Toner

When copying a page from a thick book, the lid often needs to remain open, creating a black area around the document. With this function however, the printed page is automatically detected and the surrounding dark area is eliminated. This reduces unnecessary toner use.

Conserving Resources with Functional Materials

Making Thinner TAC Films to Protect Liquid Crystal Polarizers

Konica Minolta has drawn on its strengths in film making technology to make increasingly thin TAC film, which protects polarizers in liquid crystal displays. This not only reduces the weight of IT products such as note PCs and smartphones, it also reduces the materials used, thereby contributing to resource conservation.

*
TAC: Abbreviation for the substance triacetylcellulose


TAC film

Dramatically Improving Productivity of Polarizer Manufacturers with Obliquely Oriented QWP Film

Utilizing its proprietary optical design technology and the optical properties of cellulosic materials, Konica Minolta has developed obliquely oriented QWP film, which allows users to see the exact colors of images on display even through polarized sunglasses. Furthermore, the oblique orientation of the optical axis eliminates the necessity of cutting the film into sheets and bonding them obliquely in the production process of polarizers. This enables roll-to-roll production of polarizers, thereby helping polarizer manufacturers to drastically increase productivity. Besides enhancing display visibility when viewed through polarized sunglasses, a piece of QWP film also serves as a polarizer protection film, thus contributing to reducing the thickness of displays and the number of parts required for their production.

The image of the “Display with PET film” is an example of how an image can appear when PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film is applied on a display in place of QWP film.

Making Healthcare Products Lighter

Cassette Digital Radiography Systems

The AeroDR series of cassette digital radiography systems is compact, light, and easy to carry around. These products are contributing to the spread of digital radiography (DR), which reduces patients’ exposure to X-rays compared to film radiography and enables the immediate display of high-precision images. As use increased, so did demand for even lighter models.
Accordingly, in December 2016, Konica Minolta launched the AeroDR fine, which, at 2.6 kg, is among the lightest wireless DR detectors.* The grip was improved so that the panel can be easily held with one hand, and the portable DR is now easier to carry around.

*
As of November 28, 2016, among 14x17 inch wireless portable DRs.


AeroDR fine

Diagnostic Ultrasound Systems

The SONIMAGE HS1, launched in 2014, has a large market share in orthopedics and is highly regarded in the field of anesthesiology as well, thanks to its superior quality images featuring clear delineation of muscle, tendon, and nerve bundle, and its operability.
The SONIMAGE MX1, released in March 2018, inherits the technology of the HS1, and also features new technology. It is 4.5 kilograms, 43% lighter than the conventional model. *

*
Conventional model: SONIMAGE HS1


SONIMAGE MX1